


At Least Eight Hours

by ami_ven



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 14:44:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5337968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ami_ven/pseuds/ami_ven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John hated that it was necessary for Rodney to push himself this hard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Least Eight Hours

**Author's Note:**

> written for LJ community "mcsheplets" prompt #216 "crash"

John hated that it was necessary for Rodney to push himself this hard.

They had enough ZPMs to power the shield indefinitely, now that they’d returned Atlantis to Pegasus, but three Wraith hive ships in orbit were still bad news. The single nuclear bomb ‘allowed’ to them by the IOA would take out one hive, easily, but splitting the warhead into three, then combining it with the naquadah from a few spare generators into Ancient drones was a dangerous and time-consuming process.

Rodney and Radek would allow no one but themselves to handle it, so they’d been working for nearly two days straight, just like they had during the Wraith siege years before. Fortunately, the Earth-made nuke was much more stable than the one Elizabeth had once bargained out of the Genii, which allowed John to worry a little less, but he could still see the way fatigue pulled at the two scientists.

This time, it was Lorne in the Control Chair, ready to launch the drones, and John was happy to let him, because that meant that as soon as Atlantis’s sensors had confirmed the destruction of the last hive ship, he could catch Rodney’s arm as he nearly collapsed.

“You should take him straight to bed, colonel,” said Radek. He was exhausted, too, but was much better at pacing himself than Rodney. “And keep him there.”

“I just need to check—” Rodney protested.

John pulled him toward the lab doorway. “No, you don’t, buddy,” he said. “I shut down everything behind you, so there is absolutely nothing that can’t wait until you’ve had _at least_ eight hours of sleep.”

“But…”

“No buts,” said John. “Good night, Radek.”

The other man smiled. “Good night, John, Rodney,” he said, and left.

John steered Rodney in the direction of their own quarters, radioing the Control Room along the way to let them know they were going off-duty, then tossing his earpiece on their dresser.

“I could just…” Rodney began again, and John scowled.

“You’re going to _sleep_ ,” he said.

Rodney was already half-asleep on his feet, but John managed to manhandle him into the shower long enough to get clean, then tumbled them into bed without getting dressed. They should probably have eaten something, but John just didn’t have the energy.

“Hey, Sheppard,” Rodney said, groggily, “You’re sleepin’, too, right?”

John tucked himself up against Rodney’s side. “Yeah,” he said.

THE END


End file.
